Systems and Methods for Providing Portion Control Programming in a Product Forming Dispenser

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are systems and methods for configuring portion control for a dispenser apparatus. A plurality of beverage ingredients may be associated with the dispenser apparatus, and a plurality of selectable beverages may be formed from the plurality of beverage ingredients. Input for one or more preferences associated with portion control may be received. Stored information associated with at least one of the plurality of selectable beverages may be accessed. At least one portion control for at least one of the plurality of selectable beverages may be determined based at least in part on at least a portion of the received input and at least a portion of the accessed information.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/652,978, filed Oct. 16, 2012, which is a divisional of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/204,392, filed Sep. 4, 2008 (now issued as U.S.Pat. No. 8,306,655), which claims priority to and benefit of U.S.Provisional Ser. No. 60/970,488, filed on Sep. 6, 2007, the contents ofwhich are incorporated by reference.

TRADEMARKS

COCA-COLA® is a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta,Ga., U.S.A. Other names, symbols, designs, or logos used herein may beregistered trademarks, trademarks or product names of The Coca-ColaCompany or other companies.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to product dispensers, and in particular, relatesto systems and methods for providing portion control programming in aproduct forming dispenser.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional beverage dispensers can pour a beverage by combining asyrup, sweetener, and/or water. These conventional beverage dispensersgenerally offer a finite variety of beverage selections that incorporatedifferent kinds of syrups. The offered beverage selections can includebranded and non-branded beverage selections. As an example, a singleconventional dispenser using several different kinds of syrup might beable to offer choices of COCA-COLA™, DIET COCA-COLA™, SPRITE™, and a fewother branded or non-branded beverage selections.

Prior to operating a beverage dispenser at a location, such as in arestaurant or at a gas station, the beverage dispenser is typicallyconfigured or calibrated. The calibration can be utilized to set thetypes of beverages that are to be dispensed by the beverage dispenserand parameters associated with the dispense of each beverage. In someconventional beverage dispensers, a portion control dispense can beconfigured or calibrated for each beverage. Typically, a conventionalportion control dispense actuates one or more solenoids, switches and/orvalves associated with a selected beverage for a predetermined period oftime, thereby causing a predetermined amount of syrup, sweetener, and/orwater to be dispensed for the selected beverage.

For conventional beverage dispensers, a portion control dispense isoften calibrated for each beverage selection. Additionally, for eachbeverage selection, the portion control dispense is often calibratedindividually for a plurality of respective cup sizes that may bedispensed by the conventional beverage dispensers. In order to calibrateportion control dispenses for each beverage selection, a programmingmode for the beverage dispenser is typically entered into. Then, thedispense of a particular beverage selection can be manually controlledfor a particular cup size, and the time for the dispense can bedetermined and stored for future portion control dispenses. This processcan then be repeated for the remaining cup sizes for the beverage.Additionally, it is often desirable to double check the settings for thebeverage to ensure that the programmed portion control dispenses arecorrect.

One problem with the calibration of portion control dispenses forconventional beverage dispensers is that each beverage selection iscalibrated individually. Additionally, each cup size offered for aparticular beverage selection is calibrated individually. The individualcalibration and programming of conventional beverage dispensers can bereferred to as empirical calibration or empirical programming due to themanual operations involved. These conventional calibrations techniquesare often very time consuming. The time needed to calibrate the beveragedispenser further increases as the number of beverage selections for thebeverage dispenser increases. Additionally, these conventionalcalibration techniques waste a large amount of syrup and other beveragecomponents as at least one dispense is typically performed to calibrateeach cup size for each beverage selection.

Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems and methods forproviding portion control programming for a beverage dispenser.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Some or all of the above needs and/or problems may be addressed byembodiments of the invention. Embodiments of the invention may includesystems and methods for configuring portion control for a dispenserapparatus. In one embodiment, a method for configuring portion controlfor a dispenser apparatus is provided. A plurality of productingredients may be associated with the dispenser apparatus, and thedispenser apparatus may be capable of forming a plurality of selectableproducts from the plurality of product ingredients. Input for one ormore preferences associated with portion control may be received. Storedinformation associated with at least one of the plurality of selectableproducts may be accessed. At least one portion control for at least oneof the plurality of selectable products may be determined based at leastin part on at least a portion of the received input and at least aportion of the accessed information.

In another embodiment, a method for dispensing a portion control amountof a selected product may be provided. A plurality of productingredients may be associated with a dispenser apparatus, and thedispenser apparatus may be capable of forming a plurality of selectableproducts from the plurality of product ingredients. Input of one or morepreferences associated with portion controls may be received. A commandto dispense the selected product may be received. Stored informationassociated with the selected product may be accessed. An amount of theselected product to dispense may be determined based at least in part onat least a portion of the one or more preferences and at least a portionof the accessed information. The determined amount of the selectedproduct may be dispensed in response to the received command.

In yet another embodiment, a dispenser apparatus may be provided. Thedispenser apparatus may include an ingredient matrix operable to receivea plurality of product ingredient packages within respective locations,wherein a plurality of selectable products may be formed from theplurality of product ingredients. The dispenser apparatus may furtherinclude a memory device operable to store information associated with atleast one of the plurality of selectable products and an input deviceoperable to receive one or more preferences associated with portioncontrols. The dispenser apparatus may further include a controlleroperable to execute a set of instructions operable to receive the one ormore preferences from the input device, access at least a portion of thestored information, and determine at least one portion control for theat least one of the plurality of selectable products based at least inpart on a portion of the preferences and at least a portion of theaccessed information.

Additional systems, methods, dispensers, features and advantages arerealized through the techniques of various embodiments of the invention.Other embodiments and aspects of the invention are described in detailherein and are considered a part of the claimed invent ion. Otheradvantages and features can be understood with reference to thedescription and to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a beverage forming dispenser inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2A illustrates one example of an operational relationship between acontroller and an ingredient matrix location within an ingredient matrixin accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2B illustrates one example of a plurality of package insertiondetection interfaces in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2C illustrates one example of a plurality of beverage formingingredient packages being associated with a plurality of pumps inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2D illustrates one example of a plurality of beverage formingingredient packages being associated with a plurality of pumps andinterfaced to a controller by way of a plurality of bus nodes inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates one example of a plurality of control nodes beingassociated with a controller in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 4 illustrates one example of a method of establishing portioncontrol dispenses for a beverage forming dispenser in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates one example of a method of receiving customer inputfor portion control dispenses for a beverage forming dispenser inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates one example of customer input options for portioncontrol dispenses for a beverage forming dispenser in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates one example of a method of determining portioncontrol dispense parameters for a beverage forming dispenser inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates one example of customer input options for theselection of a beverage for a portion control dispense by a beverageforming dispenser in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates one example of a method of receiving a selection of abeverage and dispensing a portion control amount of the selectedbeverage by a beverage forming dispenser in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

The detailed description explains various embodiments of the invention,together with advantages and features, by way of example with referenceto the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

As used herein, the terms “beverage forming dispenser”, “productdispenser”, “beverage dispenser”, “dispenser apparatus”, and “dispenser”refer to a device which dispenses a product such as a beverage, can,bottle, or container.

As used herein, the terms “product” and “beverage”, and their pluralizedforms, are used synonymously, and embodiments of the invention shouldnot be limited in scope by the use of either term.

Illustrative embodiments of the invention now will be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichsome, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, theinvention may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicablelegal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Turning now to the drawings in greater detail, it will be seen that inFIG. 1 there is one example of a beverage forming dispenser 100 that maybe utilized in accordance with embodiments of the invention. The examplebeverage forming dispenser 100 may include a controller 105operationally related to an ingredient matrix 112. A plurality ofbeverage forming ingredient sources may be connected to the ingredientmatrix 112. Suitable beverage forming ingredient sources may include,for example, beverage forming ingredient packages that are inserted intothe ingredient matrix 112 and/or beverage forming ingredient sourcesthat are remotely situated relative to the beverage forming dispenser100 and connected to the ingredient matrix 112 via suitable supplylines. For example, beverage forming ingredient sources may be suppliedto the beverage forming dispenser 100 via a bag-in-box (BIB) system.

In one embodiment, a plurality of beverage forming ingredient packagesmay be inserted into the ingredient matrix 112. The ingredient matrixmay secure each of the plurality of beverage forming ingredientpackages, such as 114A-114Q. In addition, the ingredient matrix 112 maybe operationally related to a controller, such as controller 105, and toa plurality of pumps 120 and/or valves 125. In this regard, undercontrol of the controller 105, the plurality of pumps 120 and/or valves125 may be operated to effectuate the precise pumping of beverageforming products from certain of the plurality of beverage formingingredient packages 114A-114Q to dispense a custom beverage. A pluralityof sensors 127 may optionally monitor and measure the amount of beverageforming products that are pumped from certain of the plurality ofbeverage forming ingredient packages 114A-114Q.

In one embodiment, the ingredient matrix 112 may have dozens ofdifferent types and kinds of beverage forming ingredient packages, suchas 114A-114Q, inserted into it. In operation, each of the beverageforming ingredient packages 114A-114Q may be selectively combined per arecipe in varying ratios to form thousands of different kinds ofbeverages.

For example and not as a limitation, a customer, consumer, or user maymake a beverage type selection at a suitable input device 165 associatedwith the controller, such as a user interface. A recipe to form theselected beverage including ingredients and ratio of ingredients may beobtained by the controller 105 from a database local to the controller105, such as database 130, from memory associated with the controller105, such as memory 180, and/or from a remote data processing resource,such as data processing resource 135 which may be a server. Thecontroller 105 may operate any certain of the plurality of pumps 120and/or valves 125 to form and dispense a beverage by way of a nozzle 140into a cup 145.

Beverage forming dispensers in accordance with embodiments of theinvention, such as beverage forming dispenser 100, may store or beassociated with any number of ingredients, for example, lime flavoring,vanilla flavoring, cherry flavoring, and various ingredient parts ofmany branded and non-branded drinks. An advantage is that, for exampleand not as a limitation, a COCA-COLA™ beverage can be poured, or byadding cherry flavoring a CHERRY COCA-COLA™ beverage can be poured, orby adding vanilla flavoring and changing the formula a DIET VANILLACOCA-COLA™ beverage can be poured. In one embodiment, by having acontroller 105 operationally related to a plurality of beverage formingingredient packages 114 and a plurality of pumps 120 and valves 125, aconsumer can form and pour thousands of different kinds of beverages byadding flavoring, and/or combining and varying ingredients andingredient ratios.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, according to some embodiments of theinvention, the controller 105 may be operationally related to a database130 that includes beverage recipes, formulations, and methods of makingbeverages. Such beverage recipes, formulations, and methods of makingbeverages may include an ingredient list, the ratio of each ingredient,a listing of how a beverage can be customized by a consumer, consumerpreferences for dispensing one or more beverages, portion controldispense information associated with one or more beverages and/or othertypes and kinds of beverage recipes, formulations, and methods of makinga beverage as may be required and/or desired by a particular embodiment.The controller 105 may be operable to execute a set of instructions toform one or more beverages from one or more of the beverage formingingredient packages for dispensing to a consumer.

Also illustrated in FIG. 1 is a nozzle 145. The nozzle 145 may combinethe flows from the plurality of pumps 120 and/or valves 125 to mix anddispense the beverage into a cup, such as cup 145. The mixing of thebeverage may occur prior to, during, and/or following the dispense ofthe flows from the nozzle 145.

With regards to the ingredient matrix 112, there is illustrated in FIG.1 how a plurality of beverage forming ingredient packages, such as114A-114Q, may be physically inserted into respective locations withinthe ingredient matrix 112, secured, and associated with a unique pump,valve, and/or a unique combination of pump(s) and/or valve(s). Then inoperation, by way of pumps 120 and valves 125, as required by a recipe,select beverage forming ingredient packages, such as 114A-114Q, can bepumped in precise amounts or ratios to form branded beverages such asCHERRY COCA-COLA™, VANILLA COCA-COLA™, COCA-COLA™, DIET COCA-COLA™, andFANTA™, as well as a vast range of other branded beverages, non-brandedbeverages, and/or consumer customized beverages. A beverage formingdispenser in accordance with embodiments of the invention, such asbeverage forming dispenser 100, may dispense a vast range of beveragetypes, including but not limited to, carbonated beverages,non-carbonated beverages, diet beverages, teas, coffees, vitaminbeverages, energy drinks, sports drinks, and/or dairy products.

For purposes of disclosure, beverage forming packages, such as114A-114Q, may be collectively or generally referred to as beverageforming ingredient package 114. Each beverage forming ingredient package114 may be manufactured as a pouch of liquid secured in a plastic ridgedcontainer to allow insertion into the ingredient matrix 112. Wheninserted into the ingredient matrix 112, the pouch may be pierced by atleast one fitting or other suitable piercing device, allowing the liquidin the pouch to be pumped or otherwise metered by pumps 120 and/orvalves 125 in precise ratios to form the desired beverage. Additionally,one or more sensors, such as sensors 127, may monitor the amount orvolume of liquid that is pumped from a beverage forming ingredientpackage 114. One or more sensors 127 may also be utilized to aid in thedetection of a beverage forming ingredient package 114 that isapproximately empty and/or not flowing properly. For example, acapacitive sensor may be situated between a beverage forming ingredientpackage 114 and an associated pump 120. The capacitive sensor may detecteach time that liquid is drawn into the pump 120. As an example, thecapacitive sensor may detect the flexing of a metal strip each time thatliquid is drawn into the pump 120. If no flex is detected by thecapacitive sensor, then a determination may be made by a controller incommunication with the capacitive sensor, such as controller 105 or nodecontroller 310A shown in FIG. 3, that the beverage forming ingredientpackage 114 is approximately empty and/or malfunctioning. If a flex isdetected, then a determination may be made by a controller incommunication with the capacitive sensor that the beverage formingingredient package 114 is functioning properly and contains a sufficientamount of liquid to complete the pumping and dispense of a beverage.

In some instances, other ingredients, components, or beverage formingadditives may be inserted or otherwise operatively connected with theingredient matrix 112. For instance, a carbonated water supply 114O, asweetener 114P, and a water supply 114Q may be operatively connectedwith the ingredient matrix 112. These ingredients, components, orbeverage forming additives may be in the form of a pouch, or may be inanother configuration suitable for access by the ingredient matrix 112.For example, one or more of these ingredients, components, or beverageforming additives may be supplied to the ingredient matrix 112 viasuitable input tubing from respective beverage forming ingredientsources.

In the examples of the carbonated water supply 114O and the water supply114Q, a continuous supply of liquid like carbonated water, water and/orother continuous ingredient supplies can be provided by a combination ofpumps 120, valves 125, and/or variable orifice regulators to meterand/or control the flow of liquid, carbonated water, water, or otheringredient supplies during the formation of the beverage. In acontinuous supply example, the carbonated water supply 114O and thewater supply 114Q may be connected to the ingredient matrix 112.Additionally, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention, oneor more beverage forming ingredients may be circulated through aprechiller (not shown) before being supplied to the ingredient matrix112. For example, carbonated water and water may be respectivelysupplied from the carbonated water supply 114O and the water supply 114Qand circulated through one or more prechillers prior to being suppliedto the ingredient matrix 112. Additionally or alternatively, one or morebeverage forming ingredients may be supplied from refrigerated sources.

In one example, sweetener 114P may be a non-nutritive sweetener (NNS),high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), or other types or kinds of sweetener asmay be required and/or desired in a particular embodiment. In thisexample, the sweetener 114P can be a pouch capable of being connected tothe ingredient matrix 112. Additionally, in some embodiments, aplurality of sweeteners may be supplied to the ingredient matrix 112.

In one embodiment, some of the beverage forming ingredients 114 referredto as pungent may be limited to selected ingredient matrix 112locations. In this regard, pungent ingredients are so strong that once apungent ingredient is drawn through dispenser tubing in the beverageforming dispenser the tubing is permanently flavored and any fluids thatpass through the tubing will be tainted with the pungent taste. As such,once a pungent ingredient is used in the matrix, it may be desirable tolimit the replacement and/or addition of other pungent ingredients tocertain of the ingredient matrix locations to maintain a premium qualitybeverage.

Also in one embodiment, certain of the beverage forming ingredientpackages 114 may require agitation to keep the ingredient mixed. Inthese cases, the location of such ingredients in the ingredient matrixmay be limited to ingredient matrix locations that can be agitated asmay be required and/or desired in a particular embodiment.

Additionally, one or more continuous ingredient supplies may beconnected to the ingredient matrix 112 in respective locations in whichthe continuous ingredient supplies may be agitated. For example, acontinuous supply of ice may be connected to the ingredient matrix 112,and ice may be agitated prior to, during, and/or after the dispense of abeverage.

Also in one embodiment, certain of the beverage forming ingredientpackages 114 may require antimicrobial tubing and/or dispenser parts.These beverage forming ingredient packages 114 may include milk, dairy,soy, and/or other types and kinds of beverage forming ingredientpackages. In these cases, the location of such ingredients in theingredient matrix 112 may be limited to ingredient matrix locations thatutilize the appropriate antimicrobial tubing and/or dispenser parts asmay be required and/or desired in a particular embodiment.

In one embodiment, for the most part, there may be a relationshipbetween a particular beverage forming ingredient package 114 and one ormore respective pumps 120 and/or valves 125. For example, there may be aone-to-one relationship between a particular beverage forming ingredientpackage 114 and a pump 120 and/or valve 125. As another example, theremay be a four-to-one relationship between a particular beverage formingingredient package 114 and associated pumps 120 and/or valves 125. Awide variety of relationships between a particular beverage formingingredient package 114 and associated pump(s) and/or valve(s) may beutilized as desired in various embodiments of the invention. Theutilization of more than one pump 120 and/or valve 125 may facilitatethe ability to draw a higher volume of a beverage ingredient from abeverage forming ingredient package 114 in a shorter period of time. Ina few cases, it may be desirable to utilize a plurality of pumps and/orvalves on a single ingredient to be able to draw a higher volume ofliquid from the package in a shorter period of time. One such ingredientin which it may be desirable to use a plurality of pumps 120 and/orvalves 125 to be able to draw a higher volume of liquid from the package114 in a shorter period of time can be the sweetener 114P.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, a controller associated with abeverage forming dispenser 100, such as controller 105, may be anysuitable controller, computing device, or plurality of devices, forexample, a microcontroller, minicomputer, personal computer, etc. Thecontroller 105 may include a processor 175 and a memory 180. The memory180 may store programmed logic 182 (e.g., software) in accordance withembodiments of the invention. One example of software or acomputer-readable medium may be program code or a set of instructionsoperable to control the operation of a beverage forming dispenser, suchas beverage forming dispenser 100. In certain embodiments of theinvention, the memory 180 may also include data 184 utilized in theoperation of the beverage forming dispenser 100. The data 184 mayinclude data that is manually input into the controller 105, data thatis communicated to the controller 105, data associated with and/orreceived from other components of the beverage forming dispenser 100,data received from customers or users of the beverage forming dispenser100, and/or data received from a remote source, such as data processingresource 135. In certain embodiments of the invention, the memory 180may also include an operating system 186. The processor 175 may utilizethe operating system 186 to execute the programmed logic 182, and indoing so, may also utilize at least a portion of the data 184.

The controller 105 may receive input or data from other components ofthe beverage forming dispenser 100, from remote devices, such as dataprocessing resource 135, and/or from a customer or user via one or moresuitable input devices 165. The one or more suitable input devices mayinclude touch pads, touch screens, interactive displays, selectionelements, switches, buttons, keyboards, keypads, control panels, diskdrives, CD-ROMS, DVDs, removable memory devices, and/or any other devicecapable of communicating data to the controller 105. The controller 105may also output data or control the output of data to other componentsof the beverage forming dispenser 100, to one or more remote devices,and/or to one or more suitable output devices 160. The one or moresuitable output devices may include displays, interactive displays,printers, etc.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, a controller associated with abeverage forming dispenser 100, such as controller 105, may be relatedto or connected to one or more servers or data processing resources,such as data processing resource 135, via a suitable network connection.In one embodiment, a beverage forming dispenser 100 may be networked viaa network connection to the data processing resource 135, such as aserver. Such a network connection may be facilitated by any appropriatenetwork, for example, the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a widearea network (WAN), a LON WORKS network, and/or other types and kinds ofnetworks or network connections as may be required and/or desired by aparticular embodiment.

The data processing resource 135, such as a server, may be incommunication with a plurality of databases such as recipes,formulations, and methods of making beverages database 150A, operationaldatabase 150B, and/or consumer database 150C. In addition, the dataprocessing resource 135 may be used to aid or facilitate recipes,formulations, methods of making beverages, provide operational dataprocessing, perform data processing related to consumer interaction,and/or perform other data processing as may be required and or desiredin a particular embodiment. Such operational data processing mayinclude, for example and not as a limitation, equipment status,maintenance, service alerts, predictive restock, and/or other types andkinds of operational data processing as may be required and/or desiredin a particular embodiment. Such consumer interaction support mayinclude, for example and not as a limitation, consumer preferences,consumer beverage preferences, loyalty, gaming, prizes, media content,customizations, and/or other types and kinds of consumer interactionand/or data processing support as may be required and/or desired by aparticular embodiment. In certain embodiments of the invention, one ormore of the databases associated with the data processing resource 135,such as databases 150A, 150B, and 150C, may be associated with thebeverage forming dispenser 100 via a network connection. Accordingly,any of the information that is maintained by the one or more databasesmay be accessed by a controller associated with the beverage formingdispenser 100, such as controller 105, and/or stored in one or moreother databases associated with the controller, such as database 130.For purposes of disclosure, databases 130, 150A, 150B, and 150C arecollectively or otherwise individually referred to herein as database130.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, a beverage forming dispenser inaccordance with some embodiments of the invention, such as beverageforming dispenser 100, may include or be associated with one or moremachine readable code readers 155. Each of the one or more machinereadable code readers 155 may be any suitable type of reader or group ofreaders, for example, a bar code, RFID, reflected light frequency,optical, etc. In one embodiment, a machine readable code reader 155 maybe utilized to scan or read the beverage forming ingredient packages114A-114Q prior to insertion into the ingredient matrix 112. In thisregard, the controller 105 may be used to obtain information related toor associated with the beverage forming ingredient package, such as114A, using information from the scan or read, and use such informationto identify within the ingredient matrix 112 an optimum matrix locationfor placement of the beverage forming ingredient package. For example,data from a beverage forming ingredient package 114A, such as a serialnumber or identification code, can be utilized alone or correlated withpreviously stored information in a database, such as 130, or with dataotherwise accessible or stored by data processing resource 135, whichmay identify one or more ingredients associated with the beverageforming ingredient package 114A. In another example, data from abeverage forming ingredient package 114A, such as an ingredient code oridentifier, can be utilized alone or correlated with previously storedinformation in a database, such as 130, or with data otherwiseaccessible or stored by data processing resource 135, which may identifyone or more ingredients associated with the beverage forming ingredientpackage 114A.

In addition, as beverage forming ingredient packages 114A-114Q arescanned and an optimum matrix location identified, package installationpersonnel can be informed where a particular beverage forming ingredientpackage 114A is to be located in the ingredient matrix 112 by way of oneor more suitable output devices 160, such as a light emitting diode(LED) display indicator. The personnel may additionally or alternativelybe informed by way of other types and kinds of output devices or displayindicators as may be required and/or desired in a particular embodiment.Other embodiments may include output devices such as LCD screens,input/output (I/O) interfaces, and/or audio interfaces. The packageinstallation personnel may additionally be prompted for user input viaone or more user options or selections associated with the beverageforming dispenser 100 and/or the particular beverage forming ingredientpackage 114A. The one or more user options or selections that areutilized to prompt the user may be presented to the user in any suitableform, for example, via the one or more output devices 160. User input orselections may be communicated to the beverage forming dispenser 100 viaone or more suitable input devices 165, such as a touchpad associatedwith a controller of the beverage forming dispenser, such as controller105. Other embodiments may include input devices such as keypads,interactive displays, push buttons, voice recognition, etc.

In one embodiment, correct beverage forming ingredient package 114insertion into the ingredient matrix 112 may be double checked orotherwise verified by scanning a machine readable code on the package(illustrated as 118A) and scanning a machine readable code located onthe ingredient matrix 112 at the point of insertion (illustrated as118B). In this regard, the controller 105 may then check or verify thatthe beverage forming ingredient package 114 is correctly located in theingredient matrix 112. Additionally or alternatively, a machine readablecode reader 170A that is associated with a particular matrix location inthe ingredient matrix 112, such as a radio frequency identification(RFID), may be utilized to read an RFID tag (illustrated as 118A)associated with the beverage forming ingredient package 114A prior to,during, and/or subsequent to its insertion into the ingredient matrix112. In this regard, a controller, such as controller 105 may be used toobtain information related to or associated with the beverage formingingredient package 114A, and use such information to identify orotherwise determine the location within the ingredient matrix 112 of thebeverage forming ingredient package 114A.

A determination may also be made as to whether the beverage formingingredient package 114A has been inserted into an appropriate locationwithin the ingredient matrix 112. In accordance with one or moreembodiments of the invention, a plurality of machine readable codereaders may be associated with respective locations within theingredient matrix 112. As beverage forming ingredient packages 114 areinserted into the ingredient matrix 112 and scanned, packageinstallation personnel may be informed where the beverage formingingredient package 114 is located in the ingredient matrix 112 by way ofone or more suitable output devices 160, such as a light emitting diode(LED) display indicator. The package installation personnel mayadditionally or alternatively be informed by way of other types andkinds of output devices or display indicators as may be required and/ordesired in a particular embodiment. Other embodiments can include outputdevices such as LCD screens, input/output (I/O) interfaces, and audiointerfaces.

The package installation personnel may also be informed via one or moresuitable output devices 160 of any determination(s) that a beverageforming ingredient package has been inserted into an incorrect locationwithin the ingredient matrix 112. For example, if an optimal location inthe ingredient matrix 112 has been determined for a beverage formingingredient package, such as 114A, utilizing machine readable code reader155, then the insertion into the optimal location may be verified by amachine readable code reader associated with the optimal location, suchas machine readable code reader 170A. The package installation personnelmay be informed of the correct insertion. If the beverage formingingredient package is inserted into a different location than theoptimal location, then a machine readable code reader associated withthe different location may be utilized in a determination that thebeverage forming ingredient package has not been properly inserted intothe optimal location. The package installation personnel may then benotified of the improper insertion. As another example, if a beverageforming ingredient package, such as 114A, is replaced in the ingredientmatrix 112 with a new beverage forming ingredient package, a machinereadable code reader associated with the location in the ingredientmatrix 112 may be utilized in association with a determination that thenew beverage forming ingredient package may be inserted into thelocation. For example, if the location is associated with a cherrysyrup, then a determination may be made as to whether the new beverageforming ingredient package is a cherry syrup.

Furthermore, in one embodiment, a RFID tag associated with a beverageforming ingredient package, such as 114A, may be written to and/ormodified such that the beverage forming ingredient package 114A isprevented or otherwise limited from being inserted into a second orother beverage forming dispenser. In this regard, should servicepersonnel attempt to read the RFID tag a second time in an attempt torelocate the package 114A into a second beverage forming dispenser itwould be known to a controller associated with the second beverageforming dispenser that the package 114A has previously been insertedinto a different beverage dispenser, and as such, would not allow thepackage 114A to be operated in a second ingredient matrix. In operation,this can prevent partially used beverage forming ingredient packagesfrom being transferred between beverage forming dispensers. Similarly, aRFID tag associated with a beverage forming ingredient package, such as114A, may be written to and/or modified such that the beverage formingingredient package 114A is prevented or otherwise limited from beinginserted into certain locations in the ingredient matrix 112 of abeverage forming dispenser, such as beverage forming dispenser 100.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, a beverage forming dispenser inaccordance with certain embodiments of the invention may include a RFIDreader/writer, such as 170A, that is associated with each insertionlocation within the ingredient matrix 112. In this regard, as a beverageforming ingredient package, such as 114A, is inserted into theingredient matrix 112, a unique RFID reader/writer, such as 170A, can beassociated with each respective ingredient matrix 112 insertionlocation, and can read and/or write to the respective beverage formingingredient package, such as 114A.

Illustrated in FIG. 1 is an example of how a RFID reader/writer 170A maybe located adjacent to an insertion location within an ingredient matrix112 where a particular beverage forming ingredient package, such as114A, is to be inserted. As such, a RFID reader/writer 170B may beassociated with an insertion location for package 114B, and similarly170C may be associated with 114C, continuing through the total number‘N’ of insertion locations and packages represented as 170N and 114Nrespectively. In one embodiment, there may be forty four (44) RFIDreader/writers 170A-170N associated with beverage forming ingredientpackages 114A-114N though not all ingredients such as, for example andnot as a limitation, carbonated water 114O, sweetener 114P, and water114Q, may have respective RFID reader/writers. For purposes ofdisclosure, a RFID reader/writer 170A-170N may be referred to as RFIDreader/writer 170 or RFID reader 170, and ‘N’ may represent the totalnumber of objects such as packages 114N or RFID readers/writers 170N. Inone embodiment ‘N’ may be any number, and in another embodiment, ‘N’ maybe a number less than or in excess of forty four (44).

In one embodiment, a RFID reader 170 may be utilized to read an RFID tagassociated with a beverage forming ingredient package, such as 114A,upon insertion of the package 114A into the ingredient matrix 112. Inthis regard, the controller 105 may be used to obtain informationrelated to or associated with the beverage forming ingredient package114A. Such information may be used to identify within the ingredientmatrix 112 an optimum or desired matrix location for placement of thebeverage forming ingredient package 114A. In this regard, informationrelated to the beverage forming ingredient package 114A may be manuallyentered into the controller 105 such that an optimum or desired matrixlocation can be identified. Once identified, a service personnel may beinformed of the optimum or desired location within the ingredient matrix112 by way of a suitable output devices 160, such as a light emittingdiode (LED) display indicator, and/or informed by way of other types andkinds of output devices or display indicators as may be required and/ordesired in a particular embodiment. Other embodiments may include outputdevices such as LCD screens, input/output (I/O) interfaces, and audiointerfaces.

Furthermore, in one embodiment, a RFID tag associated with a beverageforming ingredient package, such as 114A, may be written to and/ormodified such that the beverage forming ingredient package 114A isprevented or otherwise limited from being utilized by a second or otherbeverage forming dispenser. In this regard, should service personnelattempt to read the RFID tag a second time in an attempt to relocate thepackage into a second beverage forming dispenser it would be known to asecond controller, via tag information or a network component, that thepackage has previously been inserted into a different beverage dispenserand as such would not allow the package to be operated in a secondingredient matrix. In operation, this may prevent or otherwise limitpartially used packages from being transferred between beverage formingdispensers by way of determining via tag information or a networkcomponent the amount of an ingredient remaining within a particularbeverage forming ingredient package.

In one embodiment, information associated with an amount of aningredient remaining in a beverage forming ingredient package 114 may bewritten to a RFID tag associated with a beverage forming ingredientpackage, such as 114A. Such information may be written to the RFID tagafter each use or prior to removal of the beverage forming ingredientpackage 114A from the ingredient matrix 112.

Referring to FIG. 2A, there is illustrated one example of an operationalrelationship between a controller, such as controller 105, and aningredient matrix location within an ingredient matrix, such asingredient matrix 112. In one embodiment, a beverage forming ingredientpackage 114A may be inserted into an ingredient matrix location 112A. Inoperation, there may be dozens of individual packages 114A-114N whichmay be uniquely inserted into dozens of ingredient matrix locations 112.In this regard, each of the packages 114A-114N may be metered, pumped,and monitored to form beverages. FIG. 2A illustrates one such embodimentof one of the many package matrix location operational relationships. Ina plurality of example embodiments the operational relationship depictedin FIG. 2A may be replicated many times in accordance with the size andnumber of ingredient matrix locations. Although controller 105, whichmay be a central controller, is shown in FIG. 2A as being associatedwith the ingredient matrix location, in certain embodiments of theinvention, other controllers may be associated with an ingredient matrixlocation as desired. For example, the beverage forming dispenser 100 mayinclude a distributed architecture in which each ingredient matrixlocation may be associated with a respective controller, as described ingreater detail below with reference to FIG. 3. As another example, thebeverage forming dispenser 100 may include a distributed architecture inwhich individual ingredient matrix locations and/or a subsets of theingredient matrix locations are associated with respective controllers.

In one embodiment, package 114A may be inserted into ingredient matrixlocation 112A. To meter, pump, and monitor ingredient contents, acontroller, such as controller 105, may be operationally related to apackage insertion detection interface 205A, one or more output devices210A, one or more pumps 120A, and/or one or more valves 125A. In aplurality of example embodiments, a combination of some or all of theseand other features may be used as may be required and/or desired in aparticular embodiment. As such, some embodiments may have less than allof the illustrated features while some may have more. As an example andnot as a limitation, valves, such as valves 125, might not be requiredfor each of the packages 114A-114N inserted in certain of the matrixlocations 112A-112N. As such, if a valve, such as valve 125A, is notneeded in the embodiment, the embodiment may be effectuated without thevalve. This adding and/or subtracting of features for a matrix locationconfiguration may apply for each of the features illustrated in FIG. 2Aand may vary as may be required and/or desired in a particularembodiment.

In operation, the package insertion detection interface 205A may be alimit switch, Hall Effect sensor, optical, and/or other types and kindsof package insertion detection interfaces as may be required and/ordesired by a particular embodiment. In any instance, a package insertiondetection interface 205A may be used to detect the insertion of apackage, such as 114A, into a respective or particular ingredient matrixlocation, such as 112A.

Referring to FIG. 2B, there is illustrated one example of a plurality ofpackage insertion detection interfaces 205A. Such interfaces 205A mayinclude, for example and not limitation, as required and/or desired by aparticular embodiment, switches 215, RFID reader/writer 220 (alsoreferred to as RFID reader as shown in FIGS. 1E and 1F as 120), machinereadable code reader 225, Hall Effect sensors 230, and/or sensors 235.For purposes of disclosure, RFID reader/writer 220, machine readablecode reader 225, and manually entered information and data related to abeverage forming ingredient package, such as 114A, can be referred to asan ingredient package identifier.

Display indicator interface 210A in FIG. 2A may be a user interface oran output device such as a light emitting diode (LED) display interface,other display interface, or type of indicator or output device as may berequired and/or desired in a particular embodiment. In operation,interface 210A may be utilized to direct service personnel to matrixlocations and/or inform service personnel of certain operational status,operational condition, and/or utilized, for other purposes, as may berequired and/or desired in a particular embodiment.

For example, as needed, one or more pumps, such as pumps 120A, may beutilized to pump ingredient contents from a particular package, such as114A, once the package 114A has been correctly or suitably inserted intoa respective matrix location, such as 112A, as may be required and/ordesired in a particular embodiment

In addition, as needed, one or more valves, such as valves 125A may beutilized to meter the flow of ingredients from a respective package,such as 114A, from a respective matrix location, such as 112A, or fromthe ingredient matrix, such as 112, during beverage formation asrequired and/or desired in a particular embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2C, there is illustrated one example of a plurality ofbeverage forming ingredient packages being associated with a pluralityof pumps. In one embodiment, a plurality of pumps, such as 120A-120P,may be operationally related to a controller, such as controller 105.Additionally, a plurality of beverage forming ingredient packages, suchas 114A-114D, may be associated with some or all of the plurality ofpumps, such as 120A-120D. In operation, controller 105 may create anassociation between the plurality of beverage forming ingredientpackages 114A-114D and the pumps 120A-D and/or valves, shown as 125 inFIG. 2A. Although the association is illustrated in FIG. 2C as a one toone association of a pump, such as pump 120A to a beverage formingingredient package, such as package 114A, other associations may beutilized as desired in various embodiments of the invention. Forexample, a plurality of pumps and/or valves may be associated with eachbeverage forming ingredient package.

An association between a plurality of beverage forming ingredientpackages, such as 114A-114D, and a plurality of pumps, such as120A-120D, may be stored as a last known good association such that eachtime the beverage forming dispenser is powered up and/or reset, a checkfor conflicts of the current association between the plurality ofbeverage forming ingredient packages and the pumps can be made. Suchconflicts may include, for example and not as a limitation, a pungentbeverage forming ingredient package being incorrectly located in theingredient matrix, an agitation required beverage forming ingredientpackage being located in a non-agitated ingredient matrix location, atleast two beverage forming ingredient packages being age and/orotherwise incompatible, and/or other types and kinds of conflicts,monitoring, and determination as may be required and or desired in aparticular embodiment.

In one embodiment, as related to a service technician making repairs ora service person restocking the beverage forming dispenser, beverageforming ingredient packages and pumps may from time to time be removed,replaced, exchanged, or in other ways the dispenser and ingredientsmodified. In these conditions, it may be likely that beverage formingingredient packages are moved to different slots and/or pump/valveassemblies are changed. As such, when the beverage forming dispenser isnext powered up or reset only then will the changes be determinable andof operational consequence. For example and not as a limitation, ifthere is a beverage forming ingredient package in the incorrect or anunsuitable ingredient matrix location, the incorrect recipe may bepoured. In addition, a replacement pump associated with an incorrect orunsuitable beverage forming ingredient package may cause the ratio ofthe pour to be incorrect, resulting in poor beverage quality and/ortaste. In this regard, often different ingredients have differentviscosities. Furthermore, as viscosity of the ingredients change, fromingredient to ingredient, various characteristics of the pumps may bechanged or otherwise adjusted in order to deliver the correct orsuitable ingredient at a suitable ratio per the recipe.

Characteristics may be referred to herein as operational characteristicsand may include, for example and not as a limitation, electrical and/ormechanical characteristics of at least one of the pumps to control orcompensate for a viscosity of a particular ingredient being pumped.

An advantage of an embodiment of the invention is that once a known goodassociation exists, the dispenser may obtain information related to aplurality of beverage forming ingredient packages located in theingredient matrix, determine an association related to the operationalrelationship between each of the plurality of beverage formingingredient packages and each of a plurality of pumps, determine if theassociation has changed by comparison to the last known goodassociation, and modify the association if the association has changedto accommodate the new association.

In addition, another advantage of an embodiment of the invention can bethat the plurality of said beverage forming ingredient packagesconfigured within the ingredient matrix may be compared to a database ofbeverage recipes to form an available beverage menu.

Referring to FIG. 2C, there is illustrated a controller, such ascontroller 105, operationally related to a plurality of pumps, such aspumps 120A-P. In addition, there is an association made between thepumps 120A-D and a plurality of beverage forming ingredient packages114A-D. In this regard, package 114A may be associated with pump 120A,package 114B may be associated with pump 120B, package 114C may beassociated with pump 120C, and package 114D may be associated with pump120D. In one embodiment, an association between any number of pumps120A-P and packages 114A-D may be determined and stored as a last knowngood association. Additionally, in certain embodiments, more than onepump may be associated with a beverage forming ingredient package. Onpower up or reset, the plurality of packages 114 may be checked todetermine whether the association with the plurality of pumps haschanged (as compared the last known good association). If theassociation has changed, then the controller may attempt to dynamicallyreconfigure the pumps and packages association. If there are noconflicts, then the association may be updated and stored as the lastknown good association, and the system may start normally. If there areconflicts, then one or more prompting, attentions, and/or receipts ofinput may be needed or required before normal dispenser operation canresume.

With continued reference to FIG. 2C, a beverage forming dispenser, suchas beverage forming dispenser 100 of FIG. 1, may include a centralcontroller, such as controller 105, that controls the operation of thebeverage forming dispenser 100. In one embodiment, the controller 105may be in communication with a plurality of pumps, such as pumps120A-120P (or 120A-120N in FIG. 1), and the controller 105 may controlthe operation of the pumps. As such, the controller 105 may directlycontrol the operation of the pumps 120A-120P to form a variety ofbeverages. Although FIG. 2C illustrates a central controller, it will beunderstood that a plurality of controllers may be utilized in accordancewith embodiments of the invention. For example, a plurality of nodesand/or controllers may be arranged or associated in a distributedarchitecture, as explained in greater detail below with reference toFIGS. 2D and 3.

Referring to FIG. 2D, there is illustrated one example of a plurality ofbeverage forming ingredient packages, such as 114A-114D, beingassociated with a plurality of pumps, such as 120A-D, and interfaced toa controller 105 by way of one or more of a plurality of nodes, such asnode 240A. In one embodiment, a plurality of nodes 240A-240D may beutilized to interface a plurality of pumps/valves 120A-120P, 125 (shownin FIG. 2A) to a network bus. In this regard, the bus may form arelatively more efficient way for a controller 105 to data communicateand/or control the pumps/valves 120A-120P, 125. In one embodiment, thebus node 240A-240D may effectuate embedded microcontroller functionalityand/or be a network interface device effectuating network communicationsbetween controllers and devices such as pumps/valves 120A-120P, 125and/or other types and kinds of devices as may be required and ordesired in a particular embodiment. Such network communications mayinclude CAN, OPEN CAN, RS232, ETHERNET, RS485, wired, wireless, and/orother types and kinds of bus node effectuated network communications asmay be required and or desired in a particular embodiment.

An advantage of an embodiment of the invention may be that that once aknown good association exists, the dispenser may obtain informationrelated to a plurality of beverage forming ingredient packages locatedin the ingredient matrix, determine an association related to theoperational relationship between each of the plurality of beverageforming ingredient packages, each of a plurality of pumps, each of theplurality of nodes 240A-240D, determine if the association has changedby comparison to the last known good association, and modify if theassociation has changed, the beverage forming dispenser to accommodatethe new association. In this regard, if a node is replaced or relocatedin the ingredient matrix, the last known good association may beutilized to detect, resolve conflicts, and/or update a new associationas may be required and/or desired in a particular embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is illustrated one example of a plurality ofcontrol nodes, such as 305A-305N, being associated with a controller ofa beverage forming dispenser, such as controller 105. In one embodiment,each control node 305A-305N may be associated with a particular beverageforming ingredient such as ingredients 114A-114Q shown in FIG. 1.However, in certain embodiments, each control node 305A-305N may beassociated with a plurality of beverage forming ingredients.

In one embodiment in which each control node 305A-305N may be associatedwith a beverage forming ingredient, such as 114A-114Q shown in FIG. 1,each control node 305A-305N may control the pumping of a respectivebeverage forming ingredient, such as 114A-114Q. In this regard, eachcontrol node 305A-305N may be in communication with respective pumpingtechnology 325A-325N and/or measurement technology 330A-330N associatedwith the beverage forming ingredients. In one embodiment, a control node305A may be associated with pumping technology 325A and/or measurementtechnology 330A for a first beverage forming ingredient, such as 114Ashown in FIG. 1. As such, a control node 305B may be associated withpumping technology 325B and/or measurement technology 330B for a secondbeverage for a second beverage forming ingredient, such as 114B shown inFIG. 1. Similarly, control node 305C may be associated with pumpingtechnology 325C and/or measurement technology 330C, continuing through atotal number ‘N’ of control nodes, pumping technology, and/ormeasurement technology represented as 305N, 325N, and 330N respectively.

In one embodiment, suitable pumping technology, such as 325A, may beutilized to precisely pump a beverage forming ingredient, such as 114Ashown in FIG. 1, for a beverage. A wide variety of different pumpingtechnologies may be utilized as desired in various embodiments of theinvention to precisely pump a beverage forming ingredient 114A. Forexample, one or more suitable solenoid pumps may be utilized to pump abeverage forming ingredient 114A. In one embodiment, one or more NME1CEvolution Micropumps, manufactured by Ulka S.r.l. may be utilized topump a beverage forming ingredient, such as 114A. In operation, amicropump may be energized for approximately 15 ms, causing a plunger tobe pulled back, thereby drawing or pulling a beverage forming ingredientinto the micropump. The micropump may then be actuated causing thebeverage forming ingredient to be passed downstream through the pump. Inone embodiment, four (4) solenoid pumps may be utilized to pump abeverage forming ingredient, such as 114A. Other types of pumps,combinations of pumps, and suitable pumping technology may be utilizedin accordance with embodiments of the invention as may be requiredand/or desired in a particular embodiment.

A control node, such as control node 305A, may be associated with thepumping technology, such as 325A, that is utilized to pump a particularbeverage forming ingredient, such as 114A. One advantage of associatinga control node 305A with a particular beverage forming ingredient 114Ais that the control node 305A may be configured to operate inconjunction with the pumping technology 325A utilized in conjunctionwith the particular beverage forming ingredient 114A. In this regard, ifdifferent pumping technology is utilized in conjunction with differentbeverage forming ingredients, then respective control nodes associatedwith the different beverage forming ingredients may utilize and/orincorporate different components and/or control logic as required by thepumping technologies that are utilized. Additionally, if the pumpingtechnology associated with a particular beverage forming ingredient isupdated, altered, or replaced, then the associated control node may beupdated, altered, or replaced to account for the change in the pumpingtechnology. By updating, altering, or replacing a control node, it maynot be necessary to update or replace a central controller associatedwith a beverage forming dispenser, such as controller 105. In otherwords, the central controller 105 may function independently of thepumping technology that is utilized in association with the variousbeverage forming ingredients 114.

In one embodiment, suitable measurement technology, such as 330A, may beutilized to monitor a volume or amount of beverage forming ingredient,such as 114A shown in FIG. 1, that is dispensed for a beverage. A widevariety of different measurement technologies may be utilized as desiredin various embodiments of the invention to measure the pumping of abeverage forming ingredient 114A. As one example of measurementtechnology, one or more counters may be utilized to determine the numberof times that a pump, such as a solenoid pump, has been actuated. Inthis regard, if the volume or amount of beverage forming ingredient thatis pumped with each actuation of the solenoid pump is known or closelyestimated, then the total volume or amount of beverage formingingredient that is pumped may be determined or calculated by suitablecomponents of the measurement technology, by an associated control node,such as node 305A, and/or by an associated controller, such ascontroller 105. For example, approximately 0.01 microliters of beverageforming ingredient may be pumped with each actuation of a solenoid pump.As the solenoid pump is actuated a plurality of times during thedispense of a beverage, a counter may be utilized to track the number ofactuations and a determination of the total amount of a beverage formingingredient that is pumped for a beverage may be made. As an extension tothis example, one or more counters may track the number of actuations ofa plurality of solenoid pumps associated with a beverage formingingredient package 114. In one embodiment, four (4) solenoid pumps maybe associated with a beverage forming ingredient package, such as 114A,and the four solenoid pumps may be utilized to pump beverage formingingredient from the package 114A. One or more counters may then beutilized to track the number of actuations for the plurality of solenoidpumps.

As another example of measurement technology, one or more suitable flowmeters may be utilized in association with measuring an amount or volumeof beverage forming ingredient that is pumped from a beverage formingingredient package, such as 114A. A wide variety of flow meters may beutilized in association with embodiments of the invention including, butnot limited to, suitable pressure-velocity liquid flow meters, suitablepaddle wheel style flow meters, and/or suitable gear meters. A paddlewheel style flow meter may utilize an emitter/detector light emittingdiode (LED) pair in association with a paddle wheel that cuts through abeam generated by the LED pair as the paddle wheel rotates, therebyallowing an accurate measurement of flow rate. A gear meter may utilizea set of gears that rotate as fluid flows through the gears. A magnetmay be attached to a shaft that is connected to one of the gears. As theshaft rotates, one or more encodes may be utilized to detect therotation and determine a flow rate. In one embodiment, one or more flowmeters may be utilized in association with continuous ingredientssupplies, such as the carbonated water supply 114O and/or the watersupply 114Q shown in FIG. 1. In operation, during the dispense, of abeverage, one or more flow meters may be utilized to measure the flow ofa beverage forming ingredient, such as the carbonated water supply 114O,as it is pumped or otherwise provided to a nozzle of a beverage formingdispenser for dispense, such as nozzle 140. The measured flow rate maythen be processed by suitable components of the measurement technology,by an associated control node, such as node 305A, and/or by anassociated controller, such as controller 105 in order to determine orcalculate an amount or volume of carbonated water that is provided tothe nozzle 140 for dispense.

In certain embodiments, more than one type of suitable measurementtechnology may be utilized in association with a beverage formingdispenser, such as dispenser 100 shown in FIG. 1. For example, a firsttype of measurement technology may be utilized in association withmeasurements of an amount or volume of beverage forming ingredients thatare supplied from beverage forming ingredient packages, such as 114A,while a second type of measurement technology may be utilized inassociation with measurements of an amount or volume forming ingredientsthat are supplied from a continuous supply, such as 114O. Additionally,in certain embodiments, more than one type of suitable measurementtechnology may be utilized in association with a single beverage formingingredient. The measurements obtained from the various measurementtechnologies that are utilized may be compared with one another and/oraveraged together in order to obtain greater accuracy.

A control node, such as control node 305A, may be associated with themeasurement technology, such as 330A, that is utilized to measure theamount or volume of a particular beverage forming ingredient, such as114A, that is pumped. Additionally, the measurement technology 330A maybe remote to and/or incorporated into the associated control node 305A.One advantage of associating a control node 305A with a particularbeverage forming ingredient 114A is that the control node 305A may beconfigured to operate in conjunction with the measurement technology330A utilized in conjunction with the particular beverage formingingredient 114A. In this regard, if different measurement technology isutilized in conjunction with different beverage forming ingredients,then respective control nodes associated with the different beverageforming ingredients may utilize and/or incorporate different componentsand/or control logic as required by the measurement technologies thatare utilized. Additionally, if the measurement technology associatedwith a particular beverage forming ingredient is updated, altered, orreplaced, then the associated control node may be updated, altered, orreplaced to account for the change in the measurement technology. Byupdating, altering, or replacing a control node, it may not be necessaryto update or replace a central controller associated with a beverageforming dispenser, such as controller 105. In other words, the centralcontroller 105 may function independently of the measurement technologythat is utilized in association with the various beverage formingingredients 114.

In one embodiment, a control node, such as node 305A may include a nodecontroller, such as node controller 310A, an interface, such asinterface 315A, and/or one or more output devices, such as device(s)320A. The node controller 310A may control the operations of the controlnode 305A. The node controller 310A may be any suitable controller,computing device, or plurality of devices, for example, amicrocontroller, minicomputer, etc. The node controller 310A may includesimilar components and functionality to that described above withreference to FIG. 1 for the controller 105. For example, the nodecontroller 310A may include a memory and a processor. The processor mayexecute stored programmed logic (e.g., software) in accordance withembodiments of the invention in order to control the operation of thecontrol node 305A, the associated pumping technology 325A, and/or theassociated measurement technology 330A.

In one embodiment, the node controller 310A may store data associatedwith a beverage forming ingredient that is monitored and controlled bythe control node 305A. The stored information or a portion of the storedinformation may be obtained from a variety of sources. For example, thestored information may be obtained from the controller 105 once thecontrol node 305A has been associated with a beverage forming ingredientpacket, such as 114A. Additionally or alternatively, at least a portionof the stored information may be obtained from the beverage formingingredient packet 114A via an associated machine readable code reader,such as 170A shown in FIG. 1. A wide variety of information associatedwith the beverage forming ingredient may be stored by the control node305A as desired in embodiments of the invention. In one embodiment, thecontrol node 305A may store information associated with the fluidcharacteristics of the beverage forming ingredient and/or with theassociated pumping technology 325A. For example, the control node 305Amay store information in a calibration matrix that outlines parametersfor pumping various fluids or fluid types including, but not limited to,viscosities. The stored information may be utilized to control thepumping of a beverage forming ingredient. For example, the storedinformation may establish and/or be utilized to determine one or moresettings or parameters associated with the pumping technology 325Autilized to pump a beverage forming ingredient. A wide variety ofsettings or parameters associated with the pumping technology may beestablished or determined utilizing the stored information such as, avoltage utilized for a pumping operation and/or an amount or volume ofbeverage forming ingredient that will be pumped by the pumpingtechnology 325A during a pumping operation.

As another example of information that may be stored by a control node305A, a control node 305A may store an ingredient table associated withone or more beverage forming ingredients. The ingredient table mayinclude a wide variety of information including, but not limited to,viscosity information and/or shelf life information associated with oneor more beverage forming ingredients. The control node 305A that it ismonitoring and/or control the pumping of a beverage forming ingredientmay access at least a portion of this information in order to determinethat a beverage forming ingredient is still capable of being pumpedand/or whether the beverage forming ingredient is being pumped properly.

The node controller 310A may receive input or data from other componentsof the control node 305A, from associated pumping technology 325A, fromassociated measurement technology 330A, and/or from other components ofa beverage forming dispenser, such as controller 105, as desired inembodiments of the invention. The node controller 320A may also outputdata or control the output of data to other components of the controlnode 305A, to associated pumping technology 325A, to associatedmeasurement technology 330A, to one or more other components of abeverage forming dispenser, such as controller 105, and/or to one ormore suitable output devices 320A, as desired in embodiments of theinvention. The one or more suitable output devices 320A may include, forexample, LED indicators, displays, etc.

The interface 315A may facilitate communication between the nodecontroller 310A and the controller 105. The interface 315A may beintegrated into the node controller 310A or, alternatively, situatedremotely to the node controller 310A. Additionally, the interface 315Amay be utilized to facilitate communication between the node controller310A and the associated pumping technology 325A, the associatedmeasurement technology 330A, and/or the one or more output devices 320A.

In one embodiment, a control node, such as node 305A may be incommunication with a controller of a beverage forming dispenser, such ascontroller 105. The controller 105 may be a central controller within adistributed architecture. In one embodiment, a control node, such as305A, may be in communication with a controller, such as 105, viasuitable network communication. Such network communications may includeCAN, OPEN CAN, RS232, ETHERNET, RS485, wired, wireless, and/or othertypes and kinds of network communications as may be required and ordesired in a particular embodiment.

In one embodiment, once a beverage is selected for dispense, thecontroller 105 may access a recipe to form the selected beverage from anassociated database, such as database 130. The recipe may indicate thebeverage forming ingredients that are needed to dispense the selectedbeverage and the ratio of the needed ingredients. The controller 105 maycommunicate information associated with a dispense of a needed beverageforming ingredient to a control node, such as 305A, associated with thebeverage forming ingredient. The communicated information 105 mayinclude information associated with the desired ratio, a desired flowrate of the beverage forming ingredient, a desired volume of thebeverage forming ingredient and/or other information as may be desiredin an embodiment of the invention. The controller 105 may alsocommunicate an order or command to the control node 305A to commence thedispense of the beverage forming ingredient utilizing the desired flowrate, ratio and/or volume. The commence order may be communicatedconcurrently with or subsequent to the communication of the informationassociated with the desired flow rate ratio and/or volume. In responseto the commence order, the control node 305A may cause the beverageforming ingredient to be dispensed in accordance with the desired flowrate, ratio and/or volume. The control node 305A, in association withthe pumping technology 325A and the measurement technology 330A maymonitor and precisely control the dispense of the beverage formingingredient. In this regard, each beverage forming ingredient for aselected beverage may be precisely monitored and controlled byassociated control nodes, such as 305A-N.

According to certain embodiments of the invention, a beverage formingdispenser, such as dispenser 100, may be configured to dispense portioncontrol amounts or volumes of selected beverages. The portion controldispenses, also referred to as portion controls, may be configuredaccording to input and/or preferences of a customer, consumer, or userof the beverage forming dispenser 100. The portion control dispenses maybe quickly and easily programmed and configured for the beverage formingdispenser 100. In one embodiment, portion control dispenses may becalibrated or initialized for multiple beverage selections concurrentlywith one another. In other words, a simplified procedure, method, orprocess may be utilized to calibrate or configure portion controldispenses for multiple beverage selections. Additionally, portioncontrol dispenses may be calibrated or initialized for multiple cupsizes or pour sizes for one or more of the beverage selections.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is illustrated one example of a method ofestablishing portion control dispenses for a beverage forming dispenser,such as 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In oneembodiment, establishing portion control dispenses includes entering aportion control programming mode associated with the beverage formingdispenser 100, receiving input associated with customer preferences forportion control dispenses, storing the received input, determiningportion control dispense parameters for one or more beverage selectionsoffered by the beverage forming dispenser 100, and configuring portioncontrol dispenses for the one or more beverage selections.

In block 405, a portion control programming mode may be entered into bythe beverage forming dispenser 100. The portion control programming modemay facilitate the input of customer or consumer options or preferencesassociated with portion control dispenses. In this regard, the portioncontrol dispenses of the beverage forming dispenser 100 may becustomized to accommodate different customer preferences and/oroperating environments associated with the beverage forming dispenser.In one embodiment, the portion control programming mode may be enteredby a technician or customer entering a particular sequence of keys orcommands via one or more appropriate input devices associated with thebeverage forming dispenser 100, such as input devices 165 shown inFIG. 1. In one embodiment, a technician may facilitate the input ofcustomer preferences for portion control dispenses. For purposes of thisdisclosure, the user of customer input or consumer input for purposes ofinputting preferences for portion control dispenses may refer to theinput of these preferences by a technician that is configuring thebeverage forming dispenser 100. Thus, a key or input sequence to enter aportion controlling programming mode may not be known by a customer orconsumer.

A wide variety of different key or input sequences may be utilized asdesired in various embodiments of the invention. Additionally, it willbe appreciated that one or more other methods, techniques, devices, ordispenser components may be utilized in association with entering aportion control programming mode, either as an alternative to or inaddition to the entering of a key or input sequence. For example, thebeverage forming dispenser 100 may include suitable security devicesthat at least in part control the access of the portion controlprogramming mode. These security devices may include mechanical,electrical or electromechanical locking mechanisms, biometric scanningdevices, etc. Once the portion control programming mode has beenentered, then processing may move to block 410.

In block 410, customer input may be received for portion controldispenses. The received customer input may be utilized to determine andconfigure portion control dispense parameters for a plurality ofbeverage selections. The portion control dispense parameters may also bereferred to as portion control parameters. Customer input may bereceived via one or more suitable input devices, such as input devices165 shown in FIG. 1. For example, customer input for portion controldispenses may be received via a control panel, touchpad, or interactivedisplay associated with the beverage forming dispenser. As anotherexample, customer input may be received via the use of an appropriatedata storage device, such as a removable data storage device that may beutilized to communicate the customer input to the beverage formingdispenser 100. As another example, customer input may be received from aremote device via a suitable network connection. Suitable networkconnections may be facilitated by a network such as the Internet, alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a LON WORKSnetwork, and/or other types and kinds of networks or network connectionsas may be required and/or desired by a particular embodiment. Othermethods, techniques, and/or devices for receiving user input may beutilized as desired in certain embodiments of the invention.

Additionally, the customer input may be received in response to one ormore prompts or requests for information that are provided to thecustomer or a technician via one or more suitable output devices, suchas output devices 160 shown in FIG. 1. For example, a display orinteractive display may be utilized to request certain input associatedwith desired customer preferences for portion control dispenses.

The received customer input may be associated with customer preferencesfor portion control dispenses and/or with an operating environmentassociated with the beverage forming dispenser 100. Customer input mayinclude, for example, input associated with one or more cup sizes thatmay be utilized in association with the beverage forming dispenser 100,input associated with an amount or ratio of ice that may be utilized inassociation with beverages dispensed by the beverage forming dispenser100, input associated with a type of ice that may be utilized inassociation with beverages dispensed by the beverage forming dispenser,input associated with desired top-offs for portion control dispenses,and/or input associated with one or more corrections for beveragedispenses. Once the customer input is received in block 410, thenprocessing may move to block 415.

In block 415, at least a portion of the received consumer input may bestored in at least one memory associated with the beverage formingdispenser 100, such as memory 180 and/or database 130 shown in FIG. 1.The processing may then move to block 420.

In block 420, portion control dispense parameters may be determined forone or more beverage selections associated with the beverage formingdispenser 100. The portion control dispense parameters for a beverageselection may be determined prior to a request to dispense theparticular beverage or during the processing of a request to dispensethe particular beverage.

For example, the stored customer preferences associated with portioncontrol dispenses may be accessed once a request to dispense aparticular beverage is received. At least a portion of the storedcustomer preferences may be utilized to determine one or more portioncontrol dispense parameters for the selected beverage. In addition,other parameters associated with the selected beverage, such as therecipe for the selected beverage, may be utilized in determining the oneor more portion control dispense parameters. For example, if theselected beverage is a CHERRY COCA-COLA™ beverage, stored informationassociated with the selected beverage may be accessed to determinecharacteristics associated with the selected beverage, its formulation,and/or its recipe. The stored information may, for example, identify theselected beverage as a high foam beverage or be utilized to determinethat the selected beverage is a high foam beverage. In one embodiment, astored table in an ingredient matrix may be utilized to specify foamingcharacteristics of various beverages. At least a portion of the customerpreferences for portion control dispenses may also be accessed andutilized in determining portion control dispense parameters for theselected beverage. The accessing or selection of one or more of thecustomer preferences for portion control dispenses may be based at leastin part on one or more of the other parameters associated with theselected beverage. As an example, the customer preferences that areaccessed may include information associated with a cup size that hasbeen selected for dispense of the selected beverage, a customerpreference associated with an amount of ice to be placed in a cup, suchas cup 145, a customer preference associated with an ice type, acustomer preference associated with a number of desired top-offs for ahigh foam beverage, and a customer preference associated with acorrection factor for a dispense or pour of the selected beverage. Inthis example, the customer preference associated with desired top-offsfor a high foam beverage may be accessed in accordance with the selectedbeverage being identified or determined to be a high foam beverage. Theaccessed customer preferences for portion control dispenses and/or theother parameters associated with the selected beverage may be utilizedto determine the portion control dispense parameters for the selectedbeverage.

In the example, a large CHERRY COCA-COLA™ beverage may be selected fordispense. The customer preference associated with a large cup size mayspecify that a large cup holds approximately twenty-two (22) ounces ofbeverage and/or ice. Additionally, the customer preferences associatedwith an amount of ice to be placed in the cup and an ice type may beutilized to determine an approximate amount of displacement for the icein the cup. For purposes of this example, the ice displacement may beapproximately six (6) ounces. Accordingly, it may be determined thatapproximately sixteen (16) ounces of beverage may be dispensed.Additionally, a correction factor for dispense may specify that the cupis only to be filled to 90% of the capacity of the cup. Accordingly, theamount of beverage to be dispensed in a portion control dispense may beadjusted to approximately 14.4 ounces. Once the amount to be dispensedis determined, the recipe for the selected beverage and the ratio of theingredients for the selected beverage may be utilized to determine theportion control dispense parameters. Additionally, the top-offpreferences may be utilized to determine the portion control dispenseparameters. For example, if the desired number of top-offs is zero, thenthe portion control dispense parameters may be established in such amanner that the entire 14.4 ounces of the selected beverage will bedispensed in a single dispense. As another example, if the desirednumber of top-offs is two, then the portion control dispense parametersmay be established in such a manner that the 14.4 ounces of the selectedbeverage will be dispensed in three dispenses. A first dispense maydispense a majority of the beverage and the two top-offs may be utilizedto fill the cup as foam generated by the earlier dispenses subsides. Adelay between a top-off dispense and previous dispense or top-offdispense may be determined based on the customer preferences or ondefault values that are pre-stored in association with the beverageforming dispenser 100.

In the current example, a beverage selection and a cup size selectionmay be received as inputs for a dispense selection and utilized inassociation with a portion control dispense; however, in certainembodiments of the invention, other inputs associated with a dispenseselection may be received and utilized as desired. These other inputsmay include a wide variety of other inputs associated with a dispenseselection, for example, a selection of no ice or a selection of extraice for a dispense. If other inputs are received for a dispenseselection, then a portion control dispense or portion control dispenseparameters for a dispense may be determined and/or adjusted based atleast in part on the received other inputs. For example, if a no iceinput is selected for a dispense, then the determination of portioncontrol dispense parameters may take the no ice input into account andmay ignore an ice displacement. Using the current example, if anapproximately twenty-two (22) ounce cup is to be filled to approximately90% of its capacity, then it may be determined that approximately 19.8ounces of beverage may be dispensed if a no ice input is selected. Asanother example, if an extra ice input is selected in association with adispense selection, then a portion control dispense may be determinedand/or adjusted based at least in part on the extra ice input. One ormore pre-stored preferences associated with extra ice, such as storedconsumer preferences and/or default preferences, may be accessed andutilized in association with the determination of a portion controldispense with extra ice. For example, a stored preference associatedwith extra ice may specify that an additional approximately 50% of iceshould be situated in or dispensed into a cup if extra ice is selected.Using the example of an approximately twenty-two (22) ounce cup with anice displacement of approximately six (6) ounces, the stored preferencefor approximately 50% of extra ice may be taken into account in adetermination of a portion control, and the ice displacement may beadjusted to approximately nine (9) ounces. Additionally, although 50% isutilized in the current example as an extra ice preference, it will beappreciated that a wide variety of extra ice preferences may be utilizedas desired in various embodiments of the invention.

As another example of determining portion control dispense parameters,the customer preferences associated with portion control dispenses maybe accessed prior to receiving a request to dispense a particularbeverage. The customer preferences may be utilized in conjunction withother parameters associated with the selectable beverages, such asbeverage formulations, characteristics, and/or recipes, to determineportion control dispense parameters for a particular beverage or for aplurality of beverages. The determination of portion control dispenseparameters may be made in a similar manner to that described in theexample above. Once the portion control dispense parameters have beendetermined, at least a portion of the portion control dispenseparameters may be stored in one or more suitable memories associatedwith the beverage forming dispenser 100, such as memory 180 and/ordatabase 130.

In one embodiment, portion control dispense parameters may be determinedfor a plurality of beverage selections associated with the beverageforming dispenser 100 based at least in part on the received customerinput. In this regard, customer preferences associated with portioncontrol dispenses may only be entered or input once and the beverageforming dispenser 100 may determine portion control dispense parametersfor a wide variety of beverages based at least in part on the receivedcustomer preferences. Accordingly, there is no need to individuallycalibrate a portion control dispense for each cup size offered for eachbeverage selection. Once the portion control dispense parameters havebeen determined, then processing may move to block 425.

In block 425, a portion control dispense for a beverage selection may beconfigured based at least in part on the determined portion controldispense parameters. Similar to the determination of the portion controldispense parameters for a beverage, the portion control dispense for thebeverage may be determined prior to or in response to the receipt of arequest to dispense the beverage. In order to configure a portioncontrol dispense for a beverage selection, the precise volumes oramounts of each of the ingredients for the beverage selection needed forthe portion control dispense may be determined. Utilizing the aboveexample for a large CHERRY COCA-COLA™ beverage, the portion controldispense parameters and the recipe for the selected beverage may beutilized to configure the portion control dispense. The portion controldispense parameters may establish that 14.4 ounces of beverage are to bedispensed with two top-offs. These parameters and the recipe for theselected beverage may be utilized to precisely determine the amounts orvolumes of the various beverage forming ingredients that are needed todispense the selected beverage. The determined amounts or volumes may bebroken down into a plurality of dispenses in order to take the top-offpreference into account. For example, the portion control dispense forthe beverage may be configured to dispense precise amounts of therespective beverage forming ingredients to achieve a first pour ofapproximately ten (10) ounces of the beverage and two subsequent top-offpours of approximately 2.2 ounces each. A wide variety of relativeamounts or volumes of the selected beverage that are dispensed for themain pour and any subsequent top-offs may be utilized as desired inaccordance with certain embodiments of the invention. The amounts orvolumes discussed above are provided as one example and are notlimiting.

Additionally, in certain embodiments, default values for portion controldispenses may be pre-established for a beverage forming dispenser 100.These default values may then be edited by a consumer or technician.

The example method for establishing portion control dispenses may endfollowing block 425.

In one embodiment of the invention, once a portion control dispense hasbeen commenced for a selected beverage, the portion control dispense maybe ceased or stopped if a suitable cancel command is received from acustomer via one or more suitable input devices, such as input devices165.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is illustrated one example of a method ofreceiving customer input for portion control dispenses for a beverageforming dispenser in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Thereceived customer input may be associated with customer preferences forportion control dispenses and/or with an operating environmentassociated with the beverage forming dispenser 100. The customer inputfor portion control dispenses may be received via one or more suitableinput devices, such as input devices 165 shown in FIG. 1. For example,customer input for portion control dispenses may be received via acontrol panel, touchpad, or interactive display associated with thebeverage forming dispenser. As another example, customer input may bereceived via the use of an appropriate data storage device, such as aremovable data storage device that may be utilized to communicate thecustomer input to the beverage forming dispenser 100. As anotherexample, customer input may be received from a remote device via asuitable network connection. Suitable network connections may befacilitated by a network such as the Internet, a local area network(LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a LON WORKS network, and/or othertypes and kinds of networks or network connections as may be requiredand/or desired by a particular embodiment. Other methods, techniques,and/or devices for receiving user input may be utilized as desired incertain embodiments of the invention.

Additionally, the customer input may be received in response to one ormore prompts or requests for information that are provided to thecustomer or a technician via one or more suitable output devices, suchas output devices 160 shown in FIG. 1. For example, a display orinteractive display may be utilized to request certain input associatedwith desired customer preferences for portion control dispenses.

In block 505, customer input may be received for one or more cup sizesthat may be associated with the dispense of beverages by the beverageforming dispenser 100. The received customer input associated with oneor more cup sizes may define the cup sizes into which selected beveragesmay be dispensed. A wide variety of information associated with one ormore cup sizes may be received including, for example, customer inputfor names to be associated with the one or more cup sizes and customerinput associated with an amount or volume of beverage that may be heldby each of the one or more cup sizes. For example, the customer maydefine or input names to be associated with one or more cup sizes.According to one embodiment, customer input may define names for one ormore cup sizes that contain one or more characters. A customer maydefine cup size names as the customer sees fit. Example cup size namesmay include generic names such as small, medium, large, and X-large orother names such as child, big gulp, etc. It will also be appreciatedthat default cup size names may be established and stored in at leastone memory associated with the beverage forming dispenser 100, such asmemory 180 and/or database 130. These default cup size names may bechanged or edited by a customer.

Additionally, in certain embodiments, a limit on the maximum number ofcharacters may be associated with each of the names for the one or morecup sizes names. A wide variety of limits may be utilized in accordancewith embodiments of the invention, and the limits may be defined atleast in part by the display capabilities of output devices associatedwith the beverage forming dispenser 100 and/or with the capacity ofmemory or memory locations (e.g., a register) associated with thebeverage forming dispenser. In one embodiment, a limit of eightcharacters may be set for each cup size name.

In addition to cup size names, consumer input may also be received foran amount or volume of beverage or other substances that may be held byeach of the one or more cup sizes that are configured. In oneembodiment, an amount or volume of beverage for each of the one or morecup sizes may be entered as ounces that may be held by the respectivecup sizes; however, in certain embodiments of the invention, other unitsof volume may be utilized as desired, for example, metric units ofvolume. In an embodiment that utilizes one or more default cup sizenames, it will be understood that respective default cup size amountsmay be associated with the default cup size names. These default cupsize amounts may be changed or edited by a customer.

Customer input associated with cup sizes may be utilized to configureany number of cup sizes to be utilized in association with a beverageforming dispenser 100. In one embodiment, one (1) to ‘N’ cup sizes maybe configured where ‘N’ represents the total number of cup sizes thatare configured. Once cup size information is received in block 505,processing may move to block 510.

In block 510, which may be optional in certain embodiments of theinvention, customer input associated with ice fill for beveragedispenses may be received. The customer input associated with ice fillmay define an approximate amount of ice that may be placed, scooped,situated, or dispensed into a cup prior to the dispense of a beverage.Many different types of ice fill input may be utilized in accordancewith embodiments of the invention. For example, the customer inputassociated with ice fill may define an approximate volume of ice foreach of the cup size. As another example, the customer input associatedwith ice fill may define an approximate ratio of ice for a cup. In oneembodiment, the customer input associated with ice fill may define anapproximate ratio of ice. Advantageously, defining an approximate ratioof ice may define an approximate ratio of ice for all of the various cupsizes that are established. Many different ratios of ice fill may beestablished as desired in various embodiments of the inventionincluding, but not limited to, no ice in a cup, approximately ¼ cup ofice, approximately ⅓ cup of ice, approximately ½ cup of ice,approximately ⅔ cup of ice, approximately ¾ cup of ice, and/orapproximately a full cup of ice. Once customer input for ice fill hasbeen received, processing may move to block 515.

If an extra ice selection is associated with the beverage formingdispenser 100, then customer input associated with one or more extra iceparameters may also be received in block 510. Many different types ofcustomer input associated with extra ice parameters may be receivedincluding, but not limited to, customer input associated with apercentage of extra ice that may be placed, scooped, situated, and/ordispensed into a cup and/or customer input associated with an amount orvolume of extra ice that may be placed, scooped, situated, and/ordispensed into a cup. In one embodiment, the customer input associatedwith extra ice parameters may include an approximate percentage of extraice that will be situated in a cup if an extra ice selection is selectedfor a dispense operation. A wide variety of percentages of extra ice maybe input by a customer, for example, a percentage between approximatelyzero and approximately fifty percent (50%) extra ice.

In block 515, customer input associated with ice type for beveragedispenses may optionally be received. For example, it may not benecessary to receive input for ice type if a customer elects to have noice in a cup. The customer input associated with ice type may allow acustomer to select a type of ice from a predetermined list of ice typesthat best matches a type of ice that will be utilized in associationwith the dispense of beverages by the beverage forming dispenser 100. Acustomer may be permitted to select a type of ice from a predeterminedlist that includes a wide variety of ice types, including but notlimited to, no ice, pellet ice, flaked ice, crushed ice, and/or cubedice. The selected ice type may be utilized in a determination of theapproximate displacement that may be caused by ice in a cup. Differentice types may lead to different displacements within the cup. Forexample, a cup that is half full of cubed ice may be capable of holdinga larger amount or volume of a beverage than a cup that is half full ofcrushed ice. As an alternative to selecting an ice type, a customer maydefine an approximately displacement for each of the one or more cupsizes that is caused by ice in the cup. The received customer input forice type may be utilized in a determination of portion control dispenseparameters for one or more beverages. Once customer input for ice typehas been received, processing may move to block 520.

In block 520, customer input associated with top-offs may be received.The customer input associated with top-offs may establish or define anumber of top-offs for a dispense of a beverage. The number of top-offsmay be established for all dispensed beverages, for groups of relatedbeverages or beverage types, or for individual beverages as desired. Inone embodiment, the number of top-offs may be established for variousgroups of beverages that have similar characteristics, such as, similarfoaming characteristics. Certain types of beverages, such as carbonatedbeverages, may foam more than other types of beverages during dispense.Due to different foaming characteristics, it may be desirable toestablish a different number of top-offs for different groups or typesof beverages. A wide variety of different beverage groups or beveragetypes may be utilized in accordance with embodiments of the invention.In one embodiment, a respective number of top-offs may be establishedfor beverages with high foam characteristics, for beverages with mediumfoam characteristics, and for beverages with low foam characteristics.Any number of top-offs may be established as desired for each of thegroups of beverages, for example, zero, one, or two top-offs.Additionally, in certain embodiments, default values may be pre-storedfor the number of top-offs for various groups of beverages and thenedited or approved by subsequently received customer input.

The received customer input associated with top-offs may further includea delay associated with the top-offs. The delay may define or establisha time interval that is to occur prior to the dispense of a top-offfollowing the main pour of a beverage or another top-off dispense for abeverage. The delay may be established for all dispensed beverages, forgroups of related beverages or beverage types, or for individualbeverages as desired. Additionally, in certain embodiments, differentdelays may be established if multiple top-offs are conducted. Forexample, a first delay may be established between a main pour and afirst top-off, and a second delay may be established between the firsttop-off and a second top-off. In one embodiment, the delay may beestablished for various groups of beverages that have similarcharacteristics, such as, similar foaming characteristics. Utilizing theexample above, a respective delay may be established for beverages withhigh foam characteristics, for beverages with medium foamcharacteristics, and for beverages with low foam characteristics. Thecustomer input associated with a delay may be any suitable timing input,for example, a timing input that establishes a number of seconds todelay prior to a top-off. Additionally, in certain embodiments, defaultvalues may be pre-stored for the top-off delay for various groups ofbeverages and then edited or approved by subsequently received customerinput.

The top-offs discussed herein are top-offs for portion controldispenses. In addition to or as an alternative to these automatictop-offs, a beverage forming dispenser 100 may include a manual top-offfunction or selection that permits a customer to manually dispense aselected beverage following a portion control dispense. In oneembodiment of the invention, once a portion control dispense has beencompleted for a selected beverage, a manual top-off may be performed ifa suitable pour or top-off command is received from a customer via oneor more suitable input devices, such as input devices 165. Once customerinput for top-offs has been received processing may move to block 520.

In block 525, customer input for pour corrections may be received. Thecustomer input for pour corrections may establish or define a correctionto the amount or volume of a beverage that is dispensed by the beverageforming dispenser 100. A pour correction may be utilized to account fora wide variety of different factors and/or operating environmentconditions associated with the beverage forming dispenser 100 including,but not limited to, seasonal water changes, ice types, syruptemperatures, and/or other miscellaneous factors that may influence oraffect the amount of a dispensed beverage or the foaming characteristicsof a dispensed beverage. In one embodiment, the pour correction may beestablished as a percentage value and, therefore, may be utilized forall available cup sizes. A pour correction may be established for alldispensed beverages, for groups of related beverages or beverage types,or for individual beverages as desired. In one embodiment, a universalpour correction for all dispensed beverages may be established as apercentage value. A wide range of percentage values may be utilized inaccordance with the example embodiment, for example, a percentage valuethat is in the range of approximately minus twenty percent (−20%) andapproximately plus twenty percent (20%). The established pour correctionmay be utilized in the determination of one or more portion controldispense parameters for one or more beverage selections as discussedabove with reference to FIG. 4.

The example method for receiving customer input for portion controldispenses may end following block 525.

Referring to FIG. 6, there is illustrated one example of customer inputoptions for portion control dispenses for a beverage forming dispenserin accordance with an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 illustratesone graphical user interface 600 that may be provided to a customer ortechnician to facilitate the input of customer options for portioncontrol dispenses. In one embodiment of the invention, a customer ortechnician may input customer options in accordance with the graphicaluser interface 600. In a plurality of example embodiments of theinvention, customer options may be input via multiple graphical userinterfaces, via pull down menus, as a result of customer prompts, and/orvia other suitable techniques, methods, or devices as may be desired.

Referring to FIG. 6, customer preferences associated with portioncontrol dispenses may be input. Customer preferences associated with thenames of one to ‘N’ cup sizes may be input in respective cup size namelocations 605A-605N where ‘N’ is the total number of cup sizes utilizedin conjunction with the beverage forming dispenser 100. Similarly,customer preferences associated with a volume or amount that may be heldbe each of the respective cup sizes may be input in respective cupvolume locations 610A-610N. A customer preference for an ice fill amountmay be selected from a list of ice fill amount options 615, and acustomer preference for an ice type may be selected from a list of icetypes 620. A customer preference for an extra ice percentage may beestablished as a percentage at an extra ice factor location 622.

A respective number of top-offs may be selected or input for high foambeverages, medium foam beverages, and low foam beverages utilizingrespective number of top-off selection lists 626, 630, 635.Additionally, respective top-off delays may be established for high foambeverages, medium foam beverages, and low foam beverages at respectivedelay time locations 640, 645, 650. A universal correction factor forevery pour may also be established as a percentage at a universal pourfactor location 655.

Referring to FIG. 7, there is illustrated one example of a method ofdetermining portion control dispense parameters for a beverage formingdispenser in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Portioncontrol dispense parameters may be determined for one or more beveragesthat may be dispensed by a beverage forming dispenser, such as dispenser100, based at least in part on received customer input associated withportion control dispenses and/or information associated withcharacteristics of a beverage.

In block 705, an available beverage menu may be determined at least inpart by comparing the beverage forming ingredient packages, illustratedas 114 in FIG. 1, and other beverage forming ingredients that have beeninserted into or connected to an ingredient matrix, such as 112, to adatabase of beverage recipes, such as 130. The various beverage recipesstored in the database 130 may define the beverage forming ingredientsthat are needed for a particular beverage. The needed ingredients may becompared to the beverage forming ingredients that are inserted into orconnected to the ingredient matrix 112 in order to identify theavailable beverages that may be formed and dispensed by the beverageforming dispenser. Once an available beverage menu has been determined,processing may move to block 710.

In block 710, customer input for portion control dispenses that isapplicable to an available beverage may be identified and/or accessed.As discussed above with reference to FIGS. 4-6, the customer input mayestablish or define customer preferences for a portion control dispenseof an available beverage including, but not limited to, a plurality ofcup sizes and cup size names, an ice fill amount, an ice type, a numberof top-offs, and a pour correction. Once the customer inputs have beenidentified, processing may move to block 715.

In block 715, one or more stored parameters or characteristics may beidentified that are applicable to an available beverage. Theseidentified parameters may include, for example, characteristics of anavailable beverage and/or a recipe for an available beverage thatdefines the beverage forming ingredients that are needed to form theavailable beverage. These identified parameters may be utilized toestablish portion control dispense parameters for the availablebeverage. Once the one or more stored input parameters orcharacteristics applicable to the available beverage have beenidentified, processing may move to block 720.

In block 720, one or more portion control dispense parameters may bedetermined for the available beverage based at least in part on theidentified customer inputs and/or the identified stored parameters orcharacteristics applicable to the available beverage. An example of thedetermination of one or more portion control dispense parameters isdescribed above with reference to FIG. 4. Once the dispense parametershave been determined for an available beverage

In block 725, the determined portion control dispense parameters for anavailable beverage may optionally be stored in a suitable memory device,such as memory 180 and/or database 130 shown in FIG. 1.

The example method for receiving customer input for portion controldispenses may end following block 725. In accordance with oneembodiment, the method described in FIG. 7 may be repeated for aplurality of available beverages in order to determine respectiveportion control dispense parameters for each of the plurality ofavailable beverages. The formation of an available beverage menu doesnot necessarily have to be repeated for the determination of portioncontrol dispense parameters for other available beverages. Additionally,the determination of portion control dispense parameters may be carriedout prior to the receipt of a request to dispense a selected beverageand/or as part of the processing of received request to dispense aselected beverage.

Additionally, new beverage forming ingredient packages 114 may beinserted into the ingredient matrix 112. With the addition of newbeverage forming ingredient packages, the beverage forming dispenser 100may be capable of dispenses additional types of beverages, as defined bya recipe database, such as 130. The recipe database 130 may be manuallyand/or automatically updated periodically in order to maintain anaccurate list of beverage recipes. As new beverage selections becomeavailable for dispense by the beverage forming dispenser 100, thebeverage forming dispenser may utilize the customer preferences forportion control dispense, the recipes and/or other characteristicsassociated with the new available beverages to determine portion controldispense parameters associated with the new available beverages.

Referring to FIG. 8, there is illustrated one example of customer inputoptions for the selection of a beverage for a portion control dispenseby a beverage forming dispenser in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. FIG. 8 illustrates one graphical user interface 800 that maybe provided to a customer to facilitate the input of customer optionsfor a beverage to be dispensed. In one embodiment of the invention, acustomer may input customer selections of beverages for dispense inaccordance with the graphical user interface 800. In a plurality ofexample embodiments of the invention, customer selections may be inputvia multiple graphical user interfaces, via pull down menus, as a resultof customer prompts, and/or via other suitable techniques, methods, ordevices as may be desired.

With reference to FIG. 8, a customer input for the selection of abeverage may be received. In certain embodiments of the invention, thecustomer may select a beverage by selecting a beverage indicator, suchas indicator 805A, from a plurality of available beverage indicators805A-N. For example, a customer may select a branded COCA-COLA™indicator to select as a beverage to be dispensed. Example embodimentsof the invention may include any number of selectable beverageindicators 805A-N. These indicators may be displayed on a singlegraphical user interface, on a scrollable graphical user interface, oron multiple graphical user interfaces as desired in various embodimentsof the invention.

A customer may also select one or more beverage additives to bedispensed with the beverage by selecting one or more associated beverageadditive indicators 810A-N. For example, a customer may select abeverage additive indicator associated with cherry syrup in order todispense the cherry syrup with the COCA-COLA™ beverage. Exampleembodiments of the invention may include any number of selectablebeverage additive indicators 810A-N. These indicators may be displayedon a single graphical user interface, on a scrollable graphical userinterface, or on multiple graphical user interfaces as desired invarious embodiments of the invention.

A customer may also select a cup size for a beverage dispense byselecting a cup size indicator, such as indicator 815A, from a pluralityof available cup size indicators 815A-N. For example, a customer mayselect a large cup size for a dispense of a beverage. Exampleembodiments of the invention may include any number of selectable cupsize indicators 815A-N. These indicators may be displayed on a singlegraphical user interface, on a scrollable graphical user interface, oron multiple graphical user interfaces as desired in various embodimentsof the invention.

In order to dispense a beverage, selection of at least a beverage and acup size may be received. Additionally, other customer selections may bereceived, for example, one or more beverage additive and/or one or moreice selections. As examples of ice selections that may be received, acustomer may select a “no ice” indicator 820 or an “extra ice” indicatorin order to modify the dispense of the beverage to include either no iceor extra ice. Other ice selections may be received as desired in otherembodiments of the invention. In some embodiments, a default beverageand/or a default cup size may be determined if customer selection ofeither a beverage or a cup size is not received. In other embodiments,the parameters for a last dispense beverage may be determined andutilized if new customer selections for a beverage dispense are notreceived.

Once customer selections for a beverage to be dispensed are received,the customer may select a “dispense” indicator 830 to initiate a portioncontrol dispense of the selected beverage. Once the “dispense” indicator830 is selected, the beverage forming dispenser may configure a portioncontrol dispense of the selected beverage and dispense the selectedbeverage. If the customer selects a “stop” indicator 835 during thedispense, then the dispense may be ceased. Additionally, once a dispenseis complete, if the customer selects a “top-off” indicator 840, then thebeverage forming dispenser may perform a top-off of the last beveragedispensed. The top-off may be a dispense of a predetermined amount ofbeverage in certain embodiments of the invention, for example, one-halfof an ounce or one ounce of beverage. Alternatively, the top-off may bea manual top-off that is performed for the length of time that the“top-off” indicator 840 is selected by the customer. As anotheralternative, selection of the “top-off” indicator 840 may begin atop-off that continues until another selection is received, for example,another selection of the “top-off” indicator 840 or a selection of the“stop” indicator 835.

Although a “top-off” indicator 840 is illustrated in FIG. 8, in certainembodiments of the invention, a top-off may be performed if the“dispense” indicator 830 is selected by the customer during apredetermined period of time, for example, within 10 seconds, followinga portion control dispense of a beverage. Other methods and techniquesfor selecting and facilitating top-offs and/or portion control dispensesmay be utilized as desired in other embodiments of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, there is illustrated one example of a method ofreceiving a selection of a beverage and dispensing a portion controlamount of the selected beverage by a beverage forming dispenser inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Customer input for theselection of a beverage to be dispensed may be received and a portioncontrol dispense for the selected beverage may be configured andperformed by a beverage forming dispenser.

The example method may begin at block 905. At block 905, customer inputfor a beverage to dispense may be received. The customer input mayspecify, for example, a selected beverage and/or one or more beverageadditives to be dispensed with the beverage. At block 910, a customerselection of a cup size may be received. In addition to a beverageand/or a cup size, other customer input may be received as desired invarious embodiments of the invention, for example, ice selections,top-off selections, etc.

Once customer input for a beverage to dispense and a cup size for thebeverage has been received, operations may continue at block 915. Atblock 915, a database of recipes may be accessed in order to identifyingredients of the selected beverage and/or parameters orcharacteristics of the selected beverage, for example, foamingcharacteristics of the selected beverage. At block 920, portion controldispense parameters for the selected beverage, for example, customerpreferences for a portion control dispense of the selected beverage, maybe identified and accessed. For example, stored customer preferences fora portion control dispense of a beverage may be identified based atleast in part on characteristics of the selected beverage, such as,foaming characteristics of the beverage. The stored customer preferencesmay then be accessed for configuring a portion control dispense of theselected beverage.

At block 925, a portion control dispense of the selected beverage may beconfigured. The configuration of the portion control dispense may bebased at least in part on the ingredients and parameters of thebeverage. For example, a determination may be made as to the amount ofeach ingredient to dispense during a portion control dispense of theselected beverage. Additionally, the configuration of the portioncontrol dispense may be based at least in part on the portion controldispense parameters for the beverage. For example, portion controldispense parameters associated with a type of ice and/or a number oftop-offs may be taken into consideration when configuring a portioncontrol dispense of a beverage. More specific examples of theconfiguration of a portion control dispense for a beverage are providedabove with reference to FIGS. 4 and 7.

Once a portion control dispense for the selected beverage has beenconfigured at block 925, operations may continue at block 930 and aportion control dispense of the selected beverage may be performed. Inother words, the selected beverage may be dispensed in accordance withthe various parameters for the portion control dispense of the selectedbeverage.

The example method of receiving a selection of a beverage and dispensinga portion control amount of the selected beverage may end followingblock 930.

Additionally, at least one program storage device readable by a machine,tangibly embodying at least one program or set of instructionsexecutable by the machine to perform the capabilities of the embodimentsof the invention can be provided.

The flow diagrams depicted herein are examples. There may be manyvariations to these diagrams or the steps (or operations) describedtherein without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance,the steps may be performed in a differing order, or steps may be added,deleted or modified. All of these variations are considered a part ofthe claimed invention.

While embodiments of the invention have been described, it will beunderstood that those skilled in the art, both now and in the future,may make various improvements and enhancements which fall within thescope of the claims which follow. These claims should be construed tomaintain the proper protection for the invention first described.

The claimed invention is:
 1. A method of facilitating a portion controldispense of a beverage by a beverage dispenser, comprising: providing agraphical user interface displaying a plurality of selectable beverageindicators and a plurality of selectable cup size indicators, theplurality of selectable beverage indicators corresponding to a pluralityof beverages, the plurality of selectable cup size indicatorscorresponding to a plurality of available cup sizes; receiving aselection of a beverage from the plurality of selectable beverageindicators in the graphical user interface; receiving a selection of acup size from the plurality of selectable cup size indicators in thegraphical user interface; configuring a portion control dispense of theselected beverage based on the selected cup size; and dispensing theselected beverage from the beverage dispenser in an amount correspondingto the selected cup size.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing agraphical user interface displaying a plurality of selectable beverageindicators and a plurality of selectable cup size indicators comprisesproviding a plurality of graphical user interfaces for displaying theplurality of selectable beverage indicators and the plurality ofselectable cup size indicators.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinproviding a graphical user interface displaying a plurality ofselectable beverage indicators and a plurality of selectable cup sizeindicators comprises providing a scrollable graphical user interface fordisplaying the plurality of selectable beverage indicators and theplurality of selectable cup size indicators.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein providing a graphical user interface displaying a plurality ofselectable beverage indicators and a plurality of selectable cup sizeindicators further comprises displaying one or more beverage additiveindicators, the one or more beverage additive indicators correspondingto one or more beverage additives for adding to the selected beverage.5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more beverage additivescomprises one or more flavor modifiers.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein providing a graphical user interface displaying a plurality ofselectable beverage indicators and a plurality of selectable cup sizeindicators further comprises displaying one or more ice selectionindicators corresponding to an amount of ice for adding to the selectedbeverage.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein providing a graphical userinterface displaying a plurality of selectable beverage indicators and aplurality of selectable cup size indicators further comprises displayinga selectable stop indicator for stopping the dispense of the selectedbeverage.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein providing a graphical userinterface displaying a plurality of selectable beverage indicators and aplurality of selectable cup size indicators further comprises displayinga selectable top-off indicator.
 9. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising: receiving a selection of the selectable top-off indicator;and in response to receiving the receiving the selection of theselectable top-off indicator, performing one or more of the followingactions following a completion of the dispense of the selected beveragefrom the beverage dispenser in an amount corresponding to the selectedcup size: initiating an additional dispense of a predetermined amount ofthe selected beverage; initiating an additional dispense of the selectedbeverage for a predetermined length of time, and initiating anadditional dispense of the selected beverage until another selection isreceived from the graphical user interface.
 10. A dispenser apparatusconfigured to facilitate a portion control dispense of a beverage,comprising: a controller operable to: provide a graphical user interfacedisplaying a plurality of selectable beverage indicators and a pluralityof selectable cup size indicators, the plurality of selectable beverageindicators corresponding to a plurality of beverages, the plurality ofselectable cup size indicators corresponding to a plurality of availablecup sizes; receive a selection of a beverage from the plurality ofselectable beverage indicators in the graphical user interface; receivea selection of a cup size from the plurality of selectable cup sizeindicators in the graphical user interface; configure a portion controldispense of the selected beverage based on the selected cup size; anddispense the selected beverage in an amount corresponding to theselected cup size.
 11. The dispenser apparatus of claim 10, wherein thegraphical user interface further displays one or more beverage additiveindicators corresponding to one or more beverage additives for adding tothe selected beverage, the one or more beverage additives comprising oneor more flavor modifiers.
 12. The dispenser apparatus of claim 10,wherein the graphical user interface further displays one or more iceselection indicators corresponding to an amount of ice for adding to theselected beverage.
 13. The dispenser apparatus of claim 10, wherein thegraphical user interface further displays a selectable stop indicatorfor stopping the dispense of the selected beverage.
 14. The dispenserapparatus of claim 10, wherein the graphical user interface furtherdisplays a selectable top-off indicator.
 15. The dispenser apparatus ofclaim 14, wherein the controller is further operable to: receive aselection of the selectable top-off indicator; and perform one or moreof the following actions in response to the selection of the selectabletop-off indicator and following a completion of the dispense of theselected beverage in an amount corresponding to the selected cup size:initiate an additional dispense of a predetermined amount of theselected beverage; initiate an additional dispense of the selectedbeverage for a predetermined length of time, and initiate an additionaldispense of the selected beverage until another selection is receivedfrom the graphical user interface.
 16. A beverage forming dispensercomprising: an input device operable to receive one or more selectionsassociated with a portion control dispense of a beverage; an outputdevice for displaying a graphical user interface comprising a pluralityof selectable beverage indicators and a plurality of selectable cup sizeindicators, the plurality of selectable beverage indicatorscorresponding to a plurality of beverages, the plurality of selectablecup size indicators corresponding to a plurality of available cup sizes;and a controller, in communication with the input device and the outputdevice, the controller being operable to: provide the graphical userinterface on the output device; receive, from the input device, aselection of a beverage from the plurality of selectable beverageindicators displayed in the graphical user interface; receive, from theinput device, a selection of a cup size from the plurality of selectablecup size indicators displayed in the graphical user interface; configurea portion control dispense of the selected beverage based on theselected cup size; and dispense the selected beverage in an amountcorresponding to the selected cup size.
 17. The beverage formingdispenser of claim 16, wherein the graphical user interface comprises aplurality of graphical user interfaces for displaying the plurality ofselectable beverage indicators and the plurality of selectable cup sizeindicators.
 18. The beverage forming dispenser of claim 16, wherein thegraphical user interface comprises a scrollable graphical user interfacefor displaying the plurality of selectable beverage indicators and theplurality of selectable cup size indicators.
 19. The beverage formingapparatus of claim 16, wherein the graphical user interface furthercomprises one or more of a selectable beverage additive indicator and anice selection indicator, the selectable beverage additive indicatorcorresponding to at least one flavor modifier for adding to the selectedbeverage.
 20. The beverage forming apparatus of claim 16, wherein thegraphical user interface further comprises a selectable stop indicatorto stop the dispense of the selected beverage and a selectable top-offindicator to initiate an additional beverage dispense following acompletion of the dispense of the selected beverage in an amountcorresponding to the selected cup size.